When Do You Need Pre-Existing Coverage on Your Travel Insurance?

What are Pre-Existing Conditions?

How are pre-existing medical conditions defined by travel insurance companies? It simply means that your insurer would not consider any claim arising due to symptoms or conditions, which were treated or diagnosed before the beginning of your trip or before the policy, came into effect.

In most cases, any health conditions that were diagnosed 48 months or less time ago will be considered a pre-existing disease. Now, whether or not will travel insurance cover preexisting conditions differs with travel insurance plans and their providers.

Is Declaring PED to Insurer Necessary?

Imagine that your father and mother are travelling from India to visit you in the US. You didn’t know that your father was treated for cholesterol a few months ago, though he was not at the risk of a heart attack, he discontinued medication before the vacation.

During the trip, he was diagnosed with heart problems, but your travel health insurance claim was denied. Your insurer examined your pre-existing medical conditions and analysed that the medical emergency was due to the heart symptoms (cholesterol) that he faced before the trip.

A lot of families commit this mistake and assume that nothing would go wrong during a short visit. Nor do they imagine that their health condition will deteriorate or reoccur during the trip. 

This is where declaring your PED becomes important. Especially if you have something chronic then you need to find travel insurance that covers pre existing conditions. For this, a declaration is necessary. 

On the other hand, insurers are wary of pre-existing conditions because of higher financial risk and thus don’t want to cover them. Does this mean your insurance won’t cover these diseases? Will you be forced to cancel your plans or travel abroad with the risk of getting sick later due to your condition?

Are Pre-Existing Diseases Covered by Travel Insurance?

Most travel insurance policies do not cover any pre-existing illness or any condition that may hamper your trip. However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t get insurance to cover those conditions. Nowadays, there are many travel insurance covering pre existing conditions for international travel.

However, you need to either inform the insurer about it in advance or check the policy documents to see if it can be included as an add-on to your existing travel insurance policy. This applies to both domestic travel insurance and international travel insurance policies.

Travel insurance companies do not accept travel insurance claims if the insured person cancels the trip or seeks medical treatment during the trip due to any pre-existing medical illnesses or complications. Pre-existing coverage under travel health insurance is only offered under optional coverage or specific plans made to cover these conditions.

How to Know if You Need PED Coverage on Your Travel Insurance Policy?

It is your responsibility to keep tabs on your health so that you can have a fulfilling and stress-free life. For this, you need to confirm if you have got any medical tests done or made any changes to your medical prescription before your trip.

Before buying travel insurance which covers pre existing conditions, you first need to understand PED. Pre-existing medical conditions can be:

• Any condition you have undergone treatment for or are still getting treated
• Any condition for which you're taking medicines
• Any health condition that you are already aware of

If you discover any condition that may pose a threat while travelling, then you will need to buy pre-existing condition add-on in your travel insurance policy. For this, you need to find a policy that covers your particular pre-existing condition.

If you suffer more than one pre-existing condition, buy a policy with no restrictions or capping as many insurers like to limit their coverage only to 1 PED. You can easily find travel insurance for pre existing conditions online by browsing plans on Policybazaar.com.

Is Travelling Without a PED Cover Worth It?

A traveller’s wife was suffering from minor chest pains after which she was taken to the hospital. She was on medication when she got an invite to a conference abroad.

She bought an international travel plan with a pre-existing disease cover before heading abroad. Unfortunately, she fell sick there but since her travel insurance company was aware of her pre-existing medical condition, she was able to file a claim.

Had she not purchased international travel insurance with pre-existing cover, her claim would have been denied at the time of her emergency abroad. Thus, it’s very important to travel with proper coverage, especially if you have a pre-existing condition already.

Wrapping it Up,

You shouldn’t leave your underlying conditions to luck as your insurer will not entertain any claims caused due to an underlying condition. Travel insurance and pre existing conditions can go well together if you pick the right plan for yourself.

Your travel insurer will assess your medical history during verification to check for any previous or related health conditions.

If the insurer finds that your previous medical conditions have a connection with the filed claim and you haven’t declared it, then your claim will be denied. However, you will avoid a lot of disappointment and expense if you have bought international travel insurance with pre-existing conditions coverage.